Experimental Techniques Using the NEW Powders by Krisy Podolak

Hi, It's Krisy here today.  I just want to start with a Warning.  This is going to be a bit of a long blog post so get a cuppa and have a seat, you might be here for a while and even longer if you watch the video too.

I was lucky enough to get to play with the Shimmer Powders ahead of the June Brisbane Scrapbooking Expo.  So, the next few blog posts from me will be sharing my first plays with this aweome new product.  I really like these powders.  They are easy to use and have such a great colour.  There is shimmer but it's not too overpowering which I really like.  I was told with these I was only limited by my imagination.  I came up with 6 different ways to use them straight up.  I made samples then turned them into cards.  So, what I am going to do is share the techniques in this post along with a process video on my POPLEOPOD channel and then at the end of the month with my second share, I will show you what I did with them and the cards I created and you could win one but you will have to wait until later in the month to find out how so make sure you are a follower.

On with my techniques:

Technique 1: Watercolour

I used the powders to make a water colour.  You just take a teeny tiny amount and put it on a palette (or in my case - messy mat) then you had a spritz of water.  The more water you add the less concentrated the colour is.  It's really trial and error to see how dark you want the colours.  Once I was happy I just used them as you would anyother watercolour and painted a stamped image with a paint brush.

Technique 2: Spritz then puff colour

I took a piece of paper with an outlined pattern on it for a bit more of a visual interest then I splattered water on it with a clean paint brush.  Once there was a bit of water on the paper, I took a clean pipette, sucked in some powder then puffed it onto the water.  When the powder was quite thin it spread in the water quite easy.  If there wasn't enough water the powder didn't dissolve properly.  This technique was really interesting and it was nice not to have any control.  I like the patterns even if some of the powder stayed clumped.  I think it added visual texture.

This is one where the powder clumped:

Using the same technique this is one that I didn't apply quite so much colour or water:

Techinque 3: Mono printing with the left overs

For any powder that had "puffed" over onto my messy mat, I just spritzed with more water added a bit more puffs of powder and then pressed some paper over it creating a mono print and not wasting any powder. (I think this was my favourite)

Technique 4: Resist

Using a Watermark stamp pad I embossed a stamped image on some plain cardstock and then embossed with clear embossing powder that had some glitter in it.  Once it was melted, I just painted the colour on as it technique one.  The colour sticks to the paper but not to the embossing.

Technique 5: Tim Holtz Splatter Brush

For this one I watched heaps of You Tube videos on how to use the brush and ultimately you splatter liquid. So I made up a fair bit of liquid colour as per the first technique and then splattered it onto the paper.  I started from one corner and splattered in one direction as I had a final idea in mind on what I wanted to do with this layout.  To splatter with this brush you hold it in one hand and then with the other you flick the bristles.  They are really quite stiff and create a nice even splatter. Once you splatter one colour you must make sure you dry it thoroughly between colours to avoid them mixing too much and making a big mess. I just repeated the process until I was happy with the result.

Technique 6: Tim Holtz Splatter Brush + a mask

I decided to use the same splatter technique but with a mask.  I recently aquired a Mr Hueys Ampersand mask inspired by an online challenge but never got around to using it so I thought now was the time.  I placed it on the paper and got splattering.  You have to be careful not to bump the mask but the end result is really pretty.

So, that's my basic introduction into the Shimmer Powders.  You can watch my process video here.  Later in the month I will share the cards I made using these backgrounds and you could win one.

In the meantime make sure you are a blog follower so you don't miss out.

Krisy xx